TLC
by angellwings
Summary: Lucy is hurt on a mission and Wyatt volunteers himself to help take care of her. Requested by TimelessFan2018 on twitter.


**A/N:** This fic is for TimelessFan2018 on twitter who requested "Lucy or Wyatt is hurt on a mission and the other one takes care of them." So here we go, kids!

Happy reading!

* * *

This mission went from SNAFU to TARFU in literally two seconds. This worst part was, they were almost home free. Wyatt was offering cover fire for Rufus and Lucy. Emma had sent the local sheriff after them, having convinced the corrupt old coot that they were fugitives. Rufus made it in, as bullets bounced off the Lifeboat, and Lucy was stepping in when he heard it. A pained yelp that sounded more like a sob than a scream. His chest tightened as he heard Rufus yell Lucy's name. _Shit_.

Wyatt fired off a shot that forced one of the deputies to the ground. It wouldn't kill him but it would get the hick lawman off their back. There was still one other deputy and the sheriff himself to contend with so Wyatt continued to fire as he made his way to where Lucy had fallen from the Lifeboat. It took him maybe five seconds to reach her but it felt like time had ticked torturously slow from the time she'd cried out to the moment he'd reached her side. She'd taken a hit to the shoulder and she was bleeding profusely. Wyatt bit back a angry growl and fired off another shot. He heard a grunt and assumed he'd hit one of them.

"Lucy?" He asked. "I need you to use your good arm to put pressure on your wound, okay?"

Tears were streaming down her face but she wasn't making any sounds. She nodded and brought a trembling hand to her shoulder. He heard her cry out and hiss as she pressed against the hole in her shoulder. Whoever was left standing had just run out of ammo. This was Wyatt's chance to get her up and into the Lifeboat.

He wrapped an arm around her waist tightly and lifted her from the ground.

She leaned against him and used his strength to help hoist her up to the door. Rufus was right there. He gingerly took Lucy from Wyatt and led her to her seat.

"You got her?" Rufus asked him as he glanced between Lucy and his pilot's chair.

Wyatt nodded as he climbed inside and shut the door. Rufus started up the Lifeboat as Wyatt buckled Lucy in. Her eyes were drifting closed and he could see her hand relaxing against the blood pouring from her shoulder.

"No, no, no," Wyatt said urgently as he put his hand on either side of her face and forced her to look up at him. "Lucy, stay with me okay. We're almost home. Just hang in there a little longer."

"It hurts," she croaked as her face contorted in a pained look he never wanted to see on her face again.

"I know, Professor, I know," Wyatt said as he took a shaky breath and placed a kiss to her forehead. More to reassure himself than her. This was the first time Lucy had suffered any serious injury during a jump. Right then and there Wyatt vowed, never again. "Just hold tight, okay? We've got you."

"Wyatt," Rufus said sympathetically, as if he didn't want to interrupt. "You have to take your seat."

He tore his eyes away from Lucy to nod at Rufus as he hesitantly sat down and buckled in, his eyes once again glued to Lucy. "Let's go, Rufus. Get us back, _now_."

Just like that they were off. He could see Lucy's jaw tense like she were gritting her teeth as the force of the jump moved her from side to side. But at least she was conscious. There was a moment where everything felt suspended in time, floating around them, and that was the moment he knew they were landing. The Lifeboat came to a jolting stop and Wyatt was out of his seat belt and in front of Lucy in record time.

Rufus stepped across him to open the door, shouting for a medic as he climbed down. He could hear Rufus shouting repetitively until a gurney appeared on the catwalk. Wyatt had Lucy unbuckled. All of her was limp except for her good arm as he pressed on the bullet wound, blood seeping through her delicate fingers. Wyatt knew she wouldn't be able to climb down so he lifted her from the seat and very carefully climbed down from the Lifeboat. He moved slowly to make sure he wouldn't jostle her in any way and placed her on the gurney.

He felt sick as he watched them roll the gurney away from him, and this time he didn't think it had anything to do with time travel.

"She gonna be okay?" Rufus asked him.

Wyatt gulped and nodded. "I got a decent look at it. It's not a fatal wound."

The crew that normally cleaned and prepared the Lifeboat rushed past them and for the first time Wyatt noticed the trail of blood on both the inside and outside of the Lifeboat, leading to where he now stood on the catwalk. She'd lost a lot of blood, but they'd gotten her to medical quickly and Mason's medical staff combined with the medics Homeland Security had brought in made for a quality crew of people. Based on his practical experience he knew she'd be okay, but emotionally it felt like a close call. Too close.

"What happened?" Denise asked as she and Mason and Jiya joined them on the catwalk.

"Emma," was all Wyatt could manage to say before he stormed off in the direction the gurney had gone. He trusted Rufus could fill them in as well as he could. He tried to analyze what he'd seen when he helped Lucy into the lifeboat. It wasn't a through and through so the bullet was still in her shoulder. They'd have to get it out and depending where it was that might take a while. Not to mention, the amount of blood she lost would require a transfusion. He collapsed into a chair across from the exam room, where he could hear muffled orders and urgent replies on the other side of the closed door. He was in for a long wait, but he'd be damned if he was leaving.

* * *

Lucy came to slowly. She opened her eyes and the world came into focus around her. She felt warmth and pressure on her right arm and barely anything on her left. She felt tired and cloudy and slow. Her throat was scratchy and dry. The weight on her right arm prevented her from moving it so she instinctively tried to bring her left hand to her throat but felt a searing jolt of pain at the first tiny movement. A small strained whimper left her throat, which also hurt. She felt like she swallowed sandpaper.

The warm weight on her right arm moved and she glanced toward it. A small warm smile coming across her face despite her pain. Wyatt. He'd pulled a chair as close to the bed as he could and was leaning forward in it. He was resting his cheek on her hand, dozing peacefully.

She blinked and then closed her eyes tightly as she tried to remember what happened. One look down at her left arm and she remembered. She'd been climbing into the Lifeboat when it felt like her shoulder suddenly shattered and she'd fallen backwards. She remembered warm, sticky blood between her fingers and feeling like she was going to be sick. The memory of the blood left her feeling just slightly light headed and her breathing turned shallow, but that memory led to one of two strong hands holding her face and two desperately pleading blue eyes. She'd taken strength from it then and it offered comfort for her now.

Wyatt must have sensed her distress because he sprung up so fast that she thought he might have whiplash.

"Hey, Luce," he said softly as he squeezed her good hand. He stood next to the bed and gently smoothed her hair away from her face.

The minute he spoke to her an overwhelming feeling of safety washed over her and her breathing evened out. He'd said her name in a quiet reverent tone and she had no idea what to make of that.

"Hey," she said with a weak smile. Only hardly any sound left her throat. She was very hoarse so her greeting was little more than a croak.

Wyatt smirked at her and wordless placed a bottle of water in her good hand. He sat back down as she took big gulping sips. Based on that alone, she knew she'd been out for a while. As Wyatt sat back down she noticed he was still in his 1950s traveling clothes. Her breath caught as she noticed the amount of blood that had now dried on his slacks and button up camp shirt. The shirt was untucked carelessly and the entire ensemble was rumpled. His hair was flattened on one side, from where he'd been dozing against her hand. He looked tired and concerned, but relieved.

"Is that yours or mine?" she asked as she handed him the water bottle and motioned to his bloody clothes.

He looked as though he did not want to answer her, but he cleared his throat and took a deep fortifying breath. "Yours."

She nodded slowly. "Well," she said with a wan smile. "I guess it was my turn."

Wyatt gave her his trademark sideways smirk and shook his head. "That's a turn I'd rather you not have taken."

She waved her hand dismissively. "It was only fair. You've been shot, Rufus has been shot. It was bound to happen sometime."

"I'm glad you're taking this so well," Wyatt said with a furrowed brow and a soft chuckle. "Though I have a feeling that drug cocktail they've got you on right now is a big part of that."

"Is that why I feel kinda groggy and floaty?" She asked him. She blinked slowly at him and he could tell she was trying to clear out whatever mental cobwebs the drugs had caused.

"Probably," he answered with an affectionate smile.

"How long have you been waiting here?" Lucy asked him with a suspicious look. That look could easily turn scolding. He knew it very well.

"Don't worry about it," he told her.

"A long time then," she said with a light laugh.

"I wanted to make sure you were okay," Wyatt explained as he took her hand again. The image of her ashen face and her limp body was burned into his brain and if were honest with himself he knew he waited to make sure that image could be replaced with a better one.

"Here I am," she said. Her words came out slow and deliberate, as if it were a struggle to keep them from coming out in a jumble. "Alive and awake with a hole in my shoulder. So, basically, _okay_." She squeezed his hand to reassure him and then gave him a grateful smile. "Thank you, for being here when I woke up. But, good god, man...go change your clothes and get some real rest."

He laughed at her now stern face and nodded. "Alright, fine, I will. But I'm coming back here after I'm done changing."

"Why?" She asked.

"Because someone has to take you home and there's no way in hell you're calling a cab," Wyatt told her. She opened her mouth to protest and he gave her a silencing look. "Don't. I'm taking you home and that's final."

She sighed in resignation. "Well, if it's final then who am I to argue?"

He smirked at her and squeezed her hand one last time before he left. When he came back just ten minutes later, he had her things in his arms and set down her plain clothes on the bed. She glanced from the clothes to her arm that was resting in a blue sling and looked uncertain for a long moment. She was still on a fair amount of pain meds, but even so she knew shoving her arm in the sleeve of her sweater would be painful. Wyatt seemed to have anticipated this and placed a plaid button up shirt on her lap.

"I keep an extra shirt in my locker," he told her. "It'll be easier to get on and more comfortable around your dressing."

"Thank you," she said as he helped her slide off the bed and place her feet on the floor.

He nodded and then scratched the back of his neck awkwardly. "Do you, uh, need any help getting changed?"

She smiled affectionately at his bashful grin and shook her head. "No, but I could use your help getting the sling off."

He nodded with obvious relief and motioned for her to turn around. He gently undid the buckle on the back of the sling and slid it slowly off of her shoulder. She held her arm steady as he pulled the sling over her head and placed it on the bed. He started to move away when Lucy remembered she was still in her time traveling clothes.

"Wait," she said with a sigh. "Actually, this dress buttons up the back and I can't exactly-"

"Right, of course, yeah," Wyatt said as he cleared his throat and reached for the top buttons. "Not a problem." He squared his shoulders and shored up his nerves. It's not like he hadn't seen her back before or been present when she shed a few layers of clothing, he thought as his mind went back to that first jump where she'd tossed her bra over her shoulder with the entirety of her bare back facing him. He shook himself back to the present and started to undo the buttons. He fumbled with the first few so it took him a little longer than it should have but as soon as the task was done he backed away from her with a calming breath. "Done. I'll be just outside if you need anything."

She nodded wordlessly and didn't glance over at him. He wondered briefly if she'd been having thoughts similar to his own. He closed the door behind him and hovered nearby. A few minutes later he heard her softly call his name and he stepped into the room hesitantly to find her fully dressed. She was wearing her skinny jeans, sneakers, and his plaid button down. It hung loosely on her frame, as it was definitely too big, but he couldn't deny the pang of longing he felt at the sight of her in his clothes. She nodded to the sling on the bed and he immediately helped her slip it on. He tightened it so it would support her arm and then touched the small of her back gently. "How's that? Tight enough?"

"Yeah, that's good," she said absently as her free hand went to her neck and she looked panicked for a moment. He knew exactly what she was searching for and spotted it on the bedside table. He picked up the delicate gold chain and held it up in front of her. She breathed a sigh of relief and gave him a grateful smile. "Thanks." He could tell when her eyes met his that she was thanking him for much more than just finding her locket.

He smiled warmly before rubbing her back in a soft comforting gesture. "Anytime. You ready?"

"Yes, please. Let's get out of here," she told him. He kept his hand on the small of her back as he guided her through the building to his truck. He put her things in his back seat and then helped her up into the passenger seat. They stopped and filled the pain med prescription on the way to her apartment. The ride was quiet but comfortable. Lucy was drifting in and out of sleep in his passenger seat. He slid his gaze over to her every now and then with an affectionate grin.

They arrived at her apartment and Wyatt walked around to the passenger side, opened the door, and gently squeezed Lucy's good shoulder. "We're here, Luce," he told her. She opened her eyes slowly and nodded. He helped her step down out of the truck and then grabbed her things and walked with her to her apartment. Once they were inside Wyatt directed Lucy to sit while he grabbed a bottle of water and and her pills.

"You should put something on your stomach, first. What are you in the mood for?" Wyatt asked.

Lucy chuckled. "Good luck finding anything worth eating in my kitchen. I live off of take out and coffee."

He rolled his eyes playfully at her and shook his head with a teasing grin. "Of course you do. Then we'll order in."

"Take out menus are in the drawer next to the fridge," Lucy told him as she rubbed a hand over her face and eyes with a yawn.

"Any requests? I mean you are the take out expert so I defer to you," He asked as he flipped through the paper flyers and came to join her on the couch.

"That sounded like an insult," Lucy said as she gave him a playful glare. "If you'd ever experienced my cooking you'd know that living off of take out actually means I'm doing the world a service."

"Oh, I have no doubt, if you cook like you climb through windows," He said with a smirk.

"Okay, that was one time-"

"Or mount a horse."

"You know, that's not fair that was the first time-"

"Or trip over your own feet."

She paused thoughtfully and then shook her head. "Yeah, I can't really defend that."

He laughed softly and then held up the menus. "Which one?"

"Vincenzo's. I think I deserve a canoli after today," Lucy said as she pulled that menu out of his hand and opened it. "I want the fettucini alfredo and a cannoli." She then handed the menu back to him. "Just tell them it's for Lucy Preston, they know the place pretty well."

"I am really gonna have to teach you to cook," he said with a grin as he took the menu from her. "That's just sad."

* * *

An hour later, they were in the middle of dinner and laughing over a story Lucy had just finished about a horrible date she'd been on in grad school. She looked awake and bright and happy and the reality of her truly being okay was finally starting to set in. Wyatt felt more relaxed than he had earlier. Her apartment in the safe house hadn't come with a kitchen table or a dining room table so they were forced to eat over the coffee table in front of her couch. The longer he was there the closer they sat on her couch, being slowly drawn to each other without even realizing it. Their shoulders and legs were brushing up against each other anytime they moved. It was a level of intimacy that Wyatt was enjoying. It had been a long time since he'd felt like he was actually living his life and Lucy made him feel as though he were taking full advantage of every moment he had.

As Lucy finished her dessert, though, Wyatt could see the pain seeping into her eyes. The drugs the medics at Mason had given her were wearing off. Wyatt reluctantly stood from the couch, immediately missing having Lucy so close, and grabbed the water and the pills he'd set aside earlier in the evening. He placed the pills in Lucy's hand, waited until she had them in her mouth, and then handed her the bottle of water.

"I should go," Wyatt said with a small smile. He was sure it had a regretful tinge to it because he didn't actually want to go. "You need to rest."

Lucy swallowed the pills, put the water bottle down on the table, and then reached out for Wyatt's arm. "Thank you," she said with a contented sigh. "You made dealing with this," she paused and motioned to her injured shoulder before returning her hand to his arm. "A lot less scary than it would have been."

He shrugged casually and smirked at her, in his usual way. His blue eyes looking directly into hers. "Happy to do it, ma'am."

She rubbed his arm and gave it a grateful squeeze. His eyes were stuck on hers and he couldn't seem to look away. He knew he should go because her pain pills would start to kick in soon, but his brain wasn't communicating that to the rest of his body. Probably because his brain was too wrapped up in the warmth and affection and longing in Lucy's eyes. Whatever it was he felt, she felt it to. Their conversation about possibilities from several weeks back came back to him and he remembered beginning to lean in before Mason had interrupted them. Mason wasn't here now. It was just the two of them.

The combination of all the days emotions hit him then. The fear that gripped him at the sound of Lucy's cry of pain, the panic as he watched her bleeding and struggling with consciousness in the Lifeboat, the worry of waiting for the medics to finish working on her, the relief of seeing her awake and talking, and then finally this moment. This moment where he felt a mix of joy and comfort and...peace because he was simply here, in the present, with her. After that there was nothing he could do to keep himself from closing the already small distance between them and capturing her lips with his. She seemed surprised at first but she was quick to respond. He felt her hand come up to caress the side of his face and flashed back to the last he kissed her, where she'd done that very same thing. That kiss had slammed him in the chest and awakened something in him that he didn't want to admit he could still feel. It had left him confused and guilty yet renewed and hopeful all at once. But this one, this one was slow and certain and felt like a confession. It felt like he was finally letting out all the feelings he'd held back. It was freeing.

They finally pulled apart and he rested his forehead against hers with a wide grin, that he was sure looked as goofy and giddy as he felt. "Figured I should get that in while we have no one around to interrupt us," he said with a chuckle.

Lucy's eyes were still closed as she smiled brightly at him and spoke. "That...that was a very good thought. Mmhmm." She opened her eyes to meet his and he could see relief and joy but he could also see the wear and tear of the day. She was happy but exhausted. He couldn't blame her a bit.

He kissed her forehead and then slipped his arm around her waist. "Come on, let's get you to bed."

"Aside from the bullet in my shoulder," Lucy said as she leaned into him and allowed him to lead her back to her bedroom. "This was a pretty good day. Next time, though, let's do this without any injuries."

He chuckled and nodded. "Deal."


End file.
